What is oil shale?
U.S. Western oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock which is very rich in organic sedimentary material called “kerogen.” The shale is heated to separate the kerogen from the rock and the resultant liquid is converted to superior quality jet fuel, diesel fuel, kerosene, and other high value products.
The term oil shale generally refers to any sedimentary rock that contains solid bituminous materials (called kerogen) that are released as petroleum-like liquids when the rock is heated in the chemical process of pyrolysis. Oil shale was formed millions of years ago by the deposition of silt and organic debris on lake beds and sea bottoms. Over long periods of time, heat and pressure transformed the materials into oil shale in a process similar to the process that forms oil; however, the heat and pressure were not as great. Oil shale generally contains enough oil that it will burn without any additional processing, and it is known as “the rock that burns.” Oil shale can be mined and processed to produce oil similar to oil pumped from conventional oil wells; however, extracting oil from oil shale is more complex than conventional oil recovery and currently is more expensive. The kerogen in oil shale is a solid and cannot be pumped directly out of the ground. The oil shale can be mined a
Oil shale is a form of sedimentary rock which contains compounds which can be converted into hydrocarbons. In fact, the term “oil shale” is a bit of a misnomer, since oil shale isn’t actually shale, and it doesn’t contain oil, either. Worldwide deposits of oil shale could potentially yield around three trillion barrels of oil, if processed efficiently, and many oil companies aim to improve the efficiency of their extraction process to make this number even higher. As such, oil shale is viewed as a potential alternative to crude oil extraction, in response to concerns about dwindling crude oil reserves. Like crude oil, oil shale contains a large amount of organic material. In oil shale, this organic material forms compounds known as kerogens, which can be extracted from the rock by heating it to create a vapor. The vapor can then be distilled to create various hydrocarbon chains, ranging from heating oil to gases. Oil shale has also historically been used as a source of fuel, because th
Oil shale is a fine grained organic rich sedimentary rock containing significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons can be processed. Unlike tar sands or conventional oil and gas reservoirs, where the bitumen or petroleum is impregnated in the rock pores, the kerogen in the oil shale has not yet been cooked into petroleum. Kerogen is the first phase of geologic transformation from organic material to petroleum. Oil shales have not matured beyond the first phase due to their relatively shallow depth of burial, thus lower than required temperatures. However, depending on the deposit, some degree of maturation will have taken place. Kerogen generally has a rich hydrogen/carbon ratio, which is a significant factor in terms of yielding high quality fuels. Oil shales are widely distributed around the world and vary considerably in their mineral content, chemical composition, age, type of kerogen, and depositional history and are derived from a number of different organisms. Th
The term oil shale generally refers to any sedimentary rock that contains solid bituminous materials (called kerogen) that are released as petroleum-like liquids when the rock is heated in the chemical process of pyrolysis. Oil shale was formed millions of years ago by deposition of silt and organic debris on lake beds and sea bottoms. Over long periods of time, heat and pressure transformed the materials into oil shale in a process similar to the process that forms oil; however, the heat and pressure were not as great. Oil shale generally contains enough oil that it will burn without any additional processing, and it is known as “the rock that burns”. Oil shale can be mined and processed to generate oil similar to oil pumped from conventional oil wells; however, extracting oil from oil shale is more complex than conventional oil recovery and currently is more expensive. The oil substances in oil shale are solid and cannot be pumped directly out of the ground. The oil shale must first
